2007 Top Sites for Job Search – SimplyHired Wins Round 10

   

SimplyHired continues to move up the leader board in the 2007 Top Sites for Job Search competition, notching a win in the Usability round to go with a win in the Search Agent round.

   

In the previous nine rounds we looked at the bits and pieces of the whole … individual bricks if you will.  In round ten, we look at the integration of the pieces.  Assembled correctly, the whole can indeed be greater than the sum of the parts; but too often, the electronic bricks of job search are assembled poorly, resulting in a substandard user experience.   

   

Usability is the mortar that binds together the great content and features offered by today’s electronic job sites.  SimplyHired is head and shoulders above the competition in seamlessly delivering features and content through a customer-friendly interface that is easy to use and understand.

   

To be the best – the most usable job site – each competitor was judged on the following design criteria:

   

¾      Interface simplicity;

¾      Intuitive navigation;

¾      Designed for accessibility;

¾      System performance;

¾      Consistent display of user path status;

¾      Key navigation above the fold;

¾      Placement of standard elements in standard locations;

¾      Predictable function of each screen element;

¾      Avoid distracting banner ads;

¾      Employ grid discipline in layout;

¾      Employ logical content grouping and chunking;

¾      Use standard names for standard operations;

¾      Design with clear focal point on each screen;

¾      Organic search results above the fold;

¾      Retain user settings throughout session;

¾      Suggest alternate spellings;

¾      Provide alternate paths when no search results found;

¾      Buttons look like buttons;

¾      Controls linked to user intention;

¾      Avoids primary navigation using drop-down lists;

¾      Able to refine search results with filters;

¾      Option to refine search results with additional words;

¾      No blind alleys;

¾      No dead-end paths;

¾      No unexpected results; and,

¾      No unnecessary info collected.

   

   

Each of the remaining three sites had strengths and weaknesses; and the overall scores were pretty close.  JobCentral was the fastest and paid strong attention to accessibility, but the interface is cluttered with banner ads and exhibits a lack of refinement that is understandable given JobCentral’s rapid expansion to meet the requirements of a replacement for AJB.  As Chad likes to say, Rome wasn’t built in a day.  True enough; but at this level of the competition, a little construction dust was enough to drop JobCentral from further contention.   

   

Best Job Sites – Round 10 Results

   

1. SimplyHired
2. Jobster
3. CareerBuilder
4. JobCentral

   

   

So we’re left with three medalists (in alpha order): CareerBuilder, Jobster and SimplyHired.  Who wins the gold?  Stay tuned.

   

Comments

[Chad Sowash]

Bob, it's great just to be considered, and making it into the top 4 of your countdown is awesome.

Thanks,
Chad

[Charles Knight]

Hello, when AltSearchEngines.com reviewed Job Search Engines, our favorite was indeed.

Just fyi!

Charles Knight, editor
AltSearchEngines.com

[Bob Wilson]

Hi Charles,

Yup, Indeed is an excellent choice for basic job search ... one of my favorites.

But this competition goes beyond the basics and considers services that Indeed has so far chosen not to offer.

Bob